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While ITQ is busily engaged in what she will cheerfully, if geekily admit is one of her very favourite journalistic activities — putting together as obsessively detailed a timeline of this latest Tale of the Tape as she can construct from available sources — interested readers can check out her chat with Dan Matheson on CTV News earlier today. Meanwhile, even earlier today — like, crack of dawn early —  she was in a teeny tiny CBC studio with none other than Kory Teneycke, chatting with The Current’s Anna Maria Tremonti about — oh, you know, things. Anyway,  soon as the audio goes up  — which also includes an interview with Colleague Maher, although sadly, he wasn’t in the booth with us, as he’s still in Halifax —  I’ll add a link to that, too.

That is if by “home”, she means “The Hill” – which, as luck would have it, is exactly the case.  After such a long absence — okay, it’s only been a few weeks, but you know what they say about politics — your intrepid liveblogger is, however, a little bit worried that she may be out of the loop, as far as the latest twists in the plot, so why not help her through the reacclimatization process, and tell her what, if any, of the following she should actually spend some time thinking about, in advance of Monday, when both she and the Commons will make their respective triumphant returns:

Okay, I feel bad saying this, since most of you won’t get the chance to appreciate it until the transcript goes up tomorrow, but the debate currently going on in the Senate over the budget bill — actually, I think they’re still on Lowell Murray’s motion to delete the non-stimulus provisions from the budget — is possibly the most inspirational that I’ve heard in — well, ages.

… or, why does this latest twist in the pre-budget plot remind me of a direct mail marketing campaign?

on her richly deserved victory! (And to all the other winners as well, of course.)

TANGENTIALLY RELATED UPDATE: This site – downforeveryoneorjustme.com is a godsend at moments like this. At least, it would be, if it wasn’t on blogspot.com, which is among the casualties of the Great Internet Explosion of Aught Eight, that is …

More specifically, the comment thread for this post, which is full of Senate reform debate-y goodness, and features ITQ as a Muttart-inspired archetype supporter of the status quo. What can I say, when it comes to the actual machinery of our democracy – the parliamentary system, in all its quirky, Rube Goldberg glory – I’m a bit of a radical.

I managed to overcome my shyness just enough to make this happen:

As anyone with the dubious fortune of being in my presence last night can confirm, I had a few things to say about comments made by a certain secretary of state on the testimony delivered by a certain retired general on Canada’s abandonment of Omar Khadr before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, what with being there and all. (Note how, in my version of events, that exchange was pretty clearly found to be So Not The Point, as far as the actual issue under discussion.)

Wonkronicity Alert:

Oh, wait – turns out that they have. Huh.

Anyway, I’m not sure if Sheila Fraser is quite as manic about her infoquarantine as, say, the Department of Finance, so I don’t know if my Blackberry will be confiscated upon arrival, but in any case, I’ll see y’all shortly after 2pm.

Due to an afternoon full of luncheon-y goodness in celebration of World Press Freedom Day, followed by post-luncheon-y social whirlwinding in celebration of Friday, posting will be light to nonexistent for the rest of the day. Feel free to chat amongst yourselves in the comments.